“He’s a versatile defender and tough player to stop en route to the rim.”

Lockett coming in helps fill the void at the SG/SF spot that will be left when Sherrod Wright and Bryon Allen are gone.

The guys at Hoopseen exclusively cover college hoops recruiting in the state of Georgia and have been following Lockett for some time. Here is their story on the commitment, seems like Mason’s business school played a role in his selection process.

I also asked one of their writers what are Lockett’s biggest strengths and this was the response:

“He is a winner, competitor, and a relentless worker. He rebounds like a machine and gets to the basket. You can’t measure heart or loyalty. He honestly will have GMU fans loving him from Day 1. He needs to improve skill set but that is teachable. Those other things aren’t.”

Also this sounds pretty good to me:

Just hung up with George Mason's newest commit Eric Lockett. Asked where he can help. Said quickly: "Defense." Totally agree. Monster on D.

So overall, is Lockett going to be the star of the 2014 class for Mason? Probably not but he could be the most important player they picked up down the road. He seems to fit the mold a glue-guy who just needs to fine tune his skill set. Mason has needed a high-character, hard-worker-on-defense-type that keeps the team’s best interest in mind. Reading about his defensive skill set is something that could be his most immediate contribution to the team. They certainly struggled defensively A LOT last season. It sounds like a great fit overall for Paul Hewitt and his staff.